Publications

July 2008 (Revised November 2012)
Supplement

UpDown: Confidential Instructions for MICHAEL

By: Noam Wasserman and Deepak Malhotra

Michael Reich is having severe doubts about how he split the equity with his co-founders two months ago, when they completed a one-page "November Agreement." Since then, Michael has found an angel investor and has worked non-stop on the business, while one co-founder... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Participants; Agreements and Arrangements; Business Startups; Ownership Stake

February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Enterprise Culture in Chinese History: Zhang Jian and the Dasheng Cotton Mills

By: Elisabeth Koll

This case focuses on the legal and managerial evolution of limited-liability firms in China, using the example of the Dasheng cotton mills in Nantong near Shanghai. Dasheng, one of the earliest and most successful industrial enterprises in pre-war China, was founded by... View Details

Keywords: History; Law; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; State Ownership; Corporate Governance; Financial Crisis; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Change; Manufacturing Industry; Shanghai; China

30 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 31, 2006

industry in the United States. Explores the interaction between the growth of a company and an overall industry. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=406082 Fundamentals of Family Business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Governing the Family-Run Business

family? The governance of a family business is more complicated than for non-family owned companies because of the central role of the family that owns and typically leads the business. In a View Details

October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Case

The Transformation of Mudo

By: Anthony J. Mayo, Esel Çekin and Çiğdem Çelik

After 16 years in management consulting, Barış Karakullukçu left to become the CEO of Mudo in 2012, one of the best-known names in Turkey's retail industry. She was tasked with leading Mudo's transition from a family business to a more institutionalized, corporate... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Management Challenges; Emerging Market; Retail; Second-generation; Operational Efficiency; Performance Management; Corporate Culture; Growth; Leading Change; Family Business; Organizational Culture; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Transformation; Performance Improvement; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Turkey

September 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Spyder Active Sports - 2004

By: Belen Villalonga, Dwight B. Crane and James Quinn

David Jacobs founded a high-end ski apparel company in 1978. He successfully built and grew the company, establishing a major international brand that appealed to ski racers and other active skiers. In 1995, he sought external financing to support further growth of the... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Valuation; Brands and Branding; Wealth; Family Business; Financing and Loans; Globalization; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Colorado

November 2023
Supplement

'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (B)

By: Debora L. Spar, Paul Healy, Tricia Peralta and Julia Comeau

Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala’s subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Economic Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Natural Resources; Crisis Management; Failure; Privatization; Social Issues; Urban Development; Adaptation; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Philippines

24 Oct 2023
HBS Case

From P.T. Barnum to Mary Kay: Lessons From 5 Leaders Who Changed the World

relationship caused her hair to thin. Breedlove found a product that revitalized it, and started selling the tonic, leaning hard on family and friends for labor and customers. “I was convinced it would be a success,” she said of the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Web

Lifelong Learning - Alumni

Program) 458 01 Mar 2024 HBS Alumni Bulletin Leading Businesses in a Web3 World How will the next generation of the internet empower users, disrupt industries, and enable ownership of digital assets? 377 01 Mar 2024 HBS Alumni Bulletin On... View Details

23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

case, we heard anecdotes from Buurtzorg’s employees that suggest many, if not most, of them are highly engaged, take full ownership of their work, are pursuing creative ways of serving their patients, and feel motivated to do the best... View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

It Came in the First Ships: Capitalism in America

the Puritan merchants of New England, they used their familial and religious connections to form a tight network of trustworthy relationships stretching over long distances. This kind of system for making credible business commitments is... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas K. McCraw

May 2021
Teaching Plan

Gera Developments: Leadership at a Crossroads

By: Christina R. Wing and John Masko

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 621-018. For decades, Gera Developments (Gera) was a boutique family-owned real estate development firm in Pune, India. But since 2000, managing director Rohit Gera had turned the company into a dynamic innovator in housing solutions for... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Construction; Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Housing; Leadership Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships; Urban Development; Customization and Personalization; Real Estate Industry; Maharashtra; India; San Francisco

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Organizing the Family-Run Business

As described in the first article in this series, the "Three-circle" family business system is composed of three overlapping subsystems: those employed in the business, the shareholders, and members of the View Details

July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Gera Developments: Leadership at a Crossroads

By: Christina R. Wing and John Masko

For decades, Gera Developments (Gera) was a boutique family-owned real estate development firm in Pune, India. But since 2000, managing director Rohit Gera had turned the company into a dynamic innovator in housing solutions for urban Indian families. Over the 2010s,... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Construction; Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Housing; Leadership Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships; Urban Development; Customization and Personalization; Real Estate Industry; Maharashtra; India; United States

Web

Named Fellowship Funds - Alumni

NYSE-listed manufacturing company, and ownership of a privately held industrial service company, where he was CEO. He is survived by his wife, Katherine Casey (MBA 1963), and his four children: Elizabeth Anne (MBA 1993), Katherine Mary,... View Details

26 Sep 2024
HBS Seminar

Garrett Van Ryzin, Columbia & Amazon

September 2024
Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Latin America; Mexico